Welcome Home
by mattmetzger
Summary: Jack's there to welcome Ianto home. #78 from 'Snapshots of Smiles'.


**Notes: The full oneshot for #78 from 'Snapshots of Smiles'. Requested by JohnKB, TechnoMistress, WickedWitchoftheSE, DarqueQueen7, Unidentified99 and toobeauty.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood and I am not making any profit from this work.**

**Welcome Home**

He didn't wait right by the doors like everybody else; he hung back instead, lounging around by the exit and shifting from foot to foot impatiently. He still hadn't decided whether Ianto would kill him for kissing him right there in the airport, or if two weeks in Perth would have put him in a good enough mood to allow it.

He'd been almost chased out of the Hub that morning by Owen, who was foaming at the mouth about the lack of decent coffee, and Jack's pacing, and Jack's aloud ramblings about what Ianto would be doing, and Jack's loud research on Perth. Jack had never been to Australia, and hadn't actually heard of Perth before Ianto requested the time off to make a trip there for a wedding into a proper holiday.

He _had _needed it, though. He'd been tired recently, and working too hard as usual, and had come down about a month ago with the worst case of flu Jack had seen since 1954. Owen had drugged him thick, but it hadn't really gotten Ianto on his feet any faster, and Jack had been needling him about taking some time off.

So while he'd missed Ianto terribly, he'd known it was for the best, and he had _tried _to bide his time.

But now, so close, and so far...this was worse than the rest of the past fortnight.

So when Ianto did push his way through the throng of families and friends in the crowd, dressed in a long-sleeved t-shirt and worn jeans that made Jack want to kiss him senseless, and began to stride across the airport, apparently not expecting someone to be there to pick him up, Jack threw away all his knowledge about Ianto's usual reserved behaviour in public, tore his hands from his pockets, and made a beeline for him.

With his long stride, Jack reached Ianto in no time, and was given a brief surprised look before he had his arms around Ianto's waist in a powerful grip, the momentum and enthusiasm of his greeting so strong that he physically lifted Ianto off his feet for a few moments, and the suitcase banged as it fell over.

"Never mind," Ianto said, the Welsh vowels rolling through Jack's ears and making him grin, before he caught a hand behind Ianto's head and pulled their lips together in a heated kiss.

Jack had kissed Ianto in public before, but had always had them broken off quickly and punished with a frown and an exasperated huff. Ianto didn't like public displays and didn't like people staring at him - them - and people always did, because he was with _Jack_. Jack was perfectly able to kiss him - and was encouraged to - in the privacy of Ianto's flat, the SUV with its tinted windows, or the Hub - but in public was usually out.

This time, however, although Ianto lessened the intensity of the kiss, his hands came up to brush Jack's jaw gently, and he leaned into Jack's hold as though they were alone at the end of a long and tiring day. When he did end the soft contact, he paused to simply smile at Jack at that startlingly close proximity before disengaging them a bit more.

"Miss me?" he said lightly.

"You have no idea," Jack said, taking the suitcase before Ianto could even reach for it. "Have a good holiday?"

He knew already that it had worked. The light freckles making themselves known on Ianto's face, neck and hands (and probably many other places too) make his skin look healthier, rather than the stark paleness that had crept in over the last few months. The lines around his brow and eyes were fainter - still _there_, but fainter - and he didn't carry himself as though bone-tired and fed up.

He took Ianto's hand as they headed for the exit, twining their fingers together and listening to Ianto's slowly building talk about his trip. The callouses on his palm had softened a little, and his skin was cool from the recycled air of the flight. Jack felt a warm flush under his own skin, but it wasn't anything to do with recycled air, and it built up when Ianto let him hold his hand all the way to the SUV.

"I should make you go on holiday more often," Jack said, chucking the suitcase in the back haphazardly. He kissed Ianto again, pressing him up against the warm metal of the car door, before letting him go and giving him a grin that promised more.

"You wouldn't be able to stand it," Ianto said.

"I'd come too," Jack said. "Get to see you in swimming trunks."

"Oh, yes," Ianto said as they got into the car. "A great improvement on the fact that you see me completely naked almost every day."

The moment the doors were closed, Jack was kissing him again - fiercely, this time, stealing Ianto's breath and pressing him back into the seat with his hands and his weight. Those warm, dextrous hands found their up under the t-shirt, stealing over firm planes and lean muscles, blindly seeking out new freckles and colours, while Jack's tongue was intent on figuring out whether Australia made a man taste different.

"You're incorrigible," Ianto gasped, peeling his face away and tucking it into Jack's shoulder as Jack kissed down his neck intently.

"I don't hear a no," Jack murmured against flushed skin.

"I'm saying not _here_," Ianto said, hands clenching in the fabric of Jack's coat, trying to restrain himself. "God, Jack, wait until we get home!"

"Is that a promise?"

"Yes," Ianto said, sealing it with another brief kiss before pushing Jack firmly back towards his own seat. "I've been as celibate as you these last two weeks, you know."

"Ooh, there's a promise," Jack grinned. "So you won't mind if I don't take you back to the Hub for another, say, four hours?"

"Nope."

"I really should let you go on holiday more often," Jack said, squeezing Ianto's knee before starting the engine. "Welcome home, Yan."

"Missed you too."


End file.
